Search Results for: at the noor trial
April 30, 2019 — Scott Johnson
As of 3:36 this afternoon we received notice that the jury has reached a verdict in the case against Mohamed Noor. Having returned so soon — following ten hours of deliberation — in a case with three charges, I thought the jury was likely to have arrived at a verdict of acquittal. On the contrary, however, while Noor was acquitted of the second-degree murder charge, the jury convicted Noor of
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April 30, 2019 — Scott Johnson
The prosecution briefly called its two experts back to the stand on rebuttal. Prosecutor Amy Sweasy and defense counsel Tom Plunkett made their closing arguments. Judge Quaintance instructed the jury. Without a break for lunch, Judge Quaintance then told the jury at 2:00 p.m. that the case is in their hands. Sequestered for deliberations, the jury now considers the two murder and one manslaughter charge against Mohamed Noor. The Star
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April 27, 2019 — Scott Johnson
The prosecution concluded its cross-examination of Mohamed Noor. The defense called its expert witness on police practices, Emanuel Kapelsohn and called two fact witnesses — neighbors of Justine — to testify to the noise they heard in the alley (formerly a “slap,” now characterized as a “loud bang”) preceding the shot in the alley behind their houses on the evening of July 15, 2017. The defense rested its case with
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April 25, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I inferred that Mohamed Noor was going to testify on his own behalf from defense counsel Peter Wold’s opening statement, but his intentions remained unclear. This morning we learned that Noor was going to take the stand, as indeed he did when prosecution expert Timothy Longo concluded his testimony and the prosecution rested its case. I have to leave early for court tomorrow morning. I am filing this special edition
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April 25, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Since Justine Ruszczyk (Damond) was killed by Mohamed Noor on July 15, 2017, the Minneapolis mayor and chief of police have been sacked, the chief by the mayor and the mayor by the voters. Justine’s killing opened a window onto Minneapolis’s kakistocracy. The case hasn’t drawn much national attention, apparently because the victim was a white woman and the shooter is a black Somali immigrant. The usual polarities are reversed,
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April 24, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I will hazard the guess that if I don’t understand what the prosecution is doing, the jury probably doesn’t understand either. On Monday two of the prosecution’s seven witnesses were blood experts from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Justine bled to death after Mohamed Noor shot her, but those facts have already been established and are undisputed. Tuesday we had more of the same as the prosecution called three
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April 23, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Judge Quaintance announced at the outset of proceedings that she would not hold court on April 19. As promised, we had Friday off. Trial resumed on Monday with the testimony of two Minneapolis Police Department officers and five Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents. The BCA took over the investigation of the killing of Justine Damond in the early morning hours of July 16, 2017 as a matter of routine
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April 19, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday was consumed by the testimony of Mohamed Noor’s patrol partner Matthew Harrity at the time of the killing of Justine Rusczyk on July 15, 2017. Harrity is the only eyewitness to the killing other than Noor. Harrity provided the defense its best day in court. I want to say at the top that I fear I may have misled readers on one point in a previous post. That point
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April 18, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Witnesses in the trial of Mohamed Noor are sequestered outside the courtroom and jurors are to avoid news and social media touching on the trial in any way. My waking hours are spent inside the courtroom. I am of necessity avoiding all news except for news bearing on the trial. If you’re looking for something on the Mueller report, I am not your man. Yesterday the prosecution continued methodically to
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April 17, 2019 — Scott Johnson
We had an important day in the trial of the murder/manslaughter trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor for the killing of Justine Ruszcyk. The prosecution called MPD fifth precinct sergeant Shannon Barnette to the stand, but was allowed to cross-examine her under Rule 611 of the Rules of Evidence. She was essentially treated by the County Attorney as an adverse witness. The prosecution bears the burden of proof
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April 16, 2019 — Scott Johnson
The trial of Mohamed Noor for the murder/manslaughter of Justine Ruszcyk continued yesterday before Judge Kathryn Quaintance in Hennepin Country District Court. The prosecutors called nine Minneapolis Police Department officers as witnesses as well as one Minneapolis Fire Department officer. A few observations: • I think the prosecution is methodically calling all of the Minneapolis Police Department officers who arrived at the scene. The prosecution has the burden of proof
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April 13, 2019 — Scott Johnson
The prosecution in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor continued yesterday with the cross-examination of officer Jesse Lopez as well as the testimony of officer Joseph Grout, Lieutenant Dan May, and Sergeant Robert Lewis, all of the Minneapolis police department. Performing the task of spinning yesterday’s testimony into a narrative are Chao Xiong and Libor Jany in their Star Tribune story as well as Jon Collins
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April 12, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I happily took the reserved Power Line seat for the first time yesterday at the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor. If Wednesday’s testimony featured the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, as it mostly did, yesterday’s featured the Minneapolis Police Department. The prosecution introduced bodycam and squad car video of MPD officers who arrived at the scene. For good narrative accounts of yesterday’s testimony and other evidence, please
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April 11, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Prosecutors in the case of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor set about methodically introducing the evidence in support of their case yesterday. The best narrative of the events in court is the Chao Xiong/Libor Jany Star Tribune article. See also the Jon Collins/Riham Feshir MPR report. I want briefly to summarize what went down and note the highlight of the testimony and other evidence in summary fashion. I continue
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April 10, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I attended the trial of Mohamed Noor yesterday. The parties made their opening statements and the prosecutors called their first witness — Don Damond, the fiancee of Justine Rusczyk (who called herself Damond in anticipation of her marriage to Don). Following up on my report from the lunch break in part 5 of this series, I want to note a few highlights and observations. For a coherent narrative account, plase
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April 9, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Before the opening statements of the parties this morning Judge Quaintance announced her decision on the First Amendment issue raised by the motion of the Media Coalition challenging her pretrial order from the bench on March 29. I have discussed this order at length in previous installments of this series in which I described it as lawless. Judge Quaintance announced that on further review she was reversing her order. She
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April 9, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I’m on my way to the courthouse this morning for opening statements in the trial of Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor. In the opening statements the parties are to summarize the evidence they anticipate introducing at trial. They are not to argue their cases. The beginning of the trial is highly anticipated. It comes nearly two years after Noor’s killing of Justine Ruszcyk (or Justine Damond, as she called herself).
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